Karabak wins the Relkeel at Cheltenham
The Grade II Unicoin Homes Relkeel Hurdle took place at Cheltenham today after a series of rescheduling and abandonment of events that has been going on for the past week. The race was run over a distance of two miles and 4 ½ furlongs, and was contended
by colts of age four and above.
Karabak made an effective comeback at the event after his last victory, which he claimed in January of the last racing season. He has missed a couple of events with a very bleak margin since then, and thus has frustrated his trainer Alan King. One of his
misses was against Donald McCain’s trainee Any Given Day. Any Given Day was ridden by the famed jockey Tony McCoy, who also registered his first victory aboard the seven-year-old racehorse.
Karabak is owned by JP McManus and is now 10-1 from 20 with Paddy Power for the World Hurdle that is scheduled to take place in March. He was the fourth place finisher in the last edition of this event.
Even though the gelding did give some splendid performances in the previous two racing seasons, he was not able to overtake the field in any one of them. This particularly irritated his connections, who had become desperate to see their colt win. Relkeel
was rather an easy event for Karabak as there was only one contender who was considered stronger than him in the meeting; Celestial Halo.
The other event that took place at the Cheltenham racecourse was the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial. This was a Juvenile Hurdle Class II event and was contested by colts of age three. The race was run over a distance of two miles and one furlong and was claimed
by Sam Winner. Meanwhile, he is already the bookmakers’ favourite for the Triumph Hurdle. According to his trainer Paul Nicholls, Sam Winner could clinch another victory at Cheltenham. He said, “He is a smart horse and I am pleased for Noel. The ground was
quick enough for him and the faster they go the better. The best is yet to come.”
The pleased trainer further added, “It is not set in stone that he will go for the Triumph, he will have an entry for the Supreme as well. He will make a chaser in time - that is what we bought him for.”
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